My Kitchen Heroes and a Signature Dish:

Cheese, Spring Onion and Tomato Flan Recipe

Meet my kitchen heroes and one of my “signature” dishes……I love cooking and baking and also prefer to make my own pastry, but, life can be hectic and frenetic sometimes and that’s where my kitchen heroes come into play – ready-made and ready-rolled pastry, as well as ready-grated Cheddar cheese. They are great to have in stand-by when life is throwing lots of curved balls at you, and I feel not ONE ounce of guilt in advertising the fact that I use them now and then. As for signature dishes, when Sainsbury’s asked me to bake my signature dish with some of my kitchen heroes ingredients, I had a struggle; the fact is that I don’t have any ONE signature dish, but several! But, I am known in my family for my pies, quiches, tarts and flans, so it seemed appropriate to share a favourite with you all, Cheese, Spring Onion and Tomato Flan, made with ready-made herb puff pastry, two cheeses, a little cream, spring onions, cherry tomatoes and Greek basil leaves.

As part of the Sainsbury’s Blogger Network, I am also hosting a competition on behalf of Sainsburys’ – they want YOU, that’s Lavender and Lovage readers to create your own signature dish. All you have to do it post your recipe online, and then leave comment on my blog post here with your recipe link, and if you are on twitter, you can tweet your recipe using #kitchenheroes hash tag. The winning recipe from this competition will be picked by the Sainsbury’s team and the most impressive recipe will win a £50 Sainsbury’s voucher. The competition will run for seven days and will end on Monday the 13th May. My signature dish is made from FOUR of “My Sainsbury’s” kitchen heroes, what I consider to be “staples”, that’s the ready-made pastry, grated Cheddar cheese, cherry tomatoes and the garlic and herb soft cheese. So, what will YOUR signature dish be?

We all enjoyed this Cheese, Spring Onion and Tomato Flan today as part of my birthday tea, and it was perfect with all of the other treats that my mum cooked……sausage rolls, poached salmon sandwiches, salad, cheese straws, cooked ham, pickles and cake of course! You can also make this flan with chives as well as spring onions, and normal tomatoes too……but, we all like the sweetness of cherry tomatoes and the lovely flavour of spring onions. Greek basil is a delicate peppery herb and the leaves are tiny, so no need to chop or dice them. The rest of the Cheese, Spring Onion and Tomato Flan is being taken on a “National Trust Picnic” tomorrow, we are off to Fountains Abbey, and the remains of my birthday tea will make great picnic grub!

My recipe for the Cheese, Spring Onion and Tomato Flan is below, as well as the competition information. So, DO enter your signature dish, you could be in with a chance of winning £50 of Sainsbury’s Vouchers…….and that has GOT to be handy for the family’s weekly shopping. That’s all for today, have a wonderful bank holiday Monday for those reader sin the UK, and see you tomorrow with my Thrifty and Organic Meal Planner for May. Karen

A delectable and easy to make cheese flan with spring onions, cherry tomatoes, herb puff pastry and Greek basil; this is made with ready-made pastry and pre-grated cheese for ease. This makes a generous 8 portions, suitable for two family meals or for one meal and the lunch box meals. Serve warm or cold and can be frozen.

Ingredients

1 pack of herb puff pastry (ready rolled, I used Sainsbury's)

3 large free-range eggs (beaten)

100mls single cream

4 tablespoons garlic and herb soft cheese (I used Sainsbury's)

125g grated extra mature Cheddar cheese (I used Sainsbury's)

fresh Greek basil leaves

salt and pepper

4 spring onions, trimmed and cut into small pieces

8 cherry tomatoes (halved)

Note

A delectable and easy to make cheese flan with spring onions, cherry tomatoes, herb puff pastry and Greek basil; this is made with ready-made pastry and pre-grated cheese for ease and convenience. This recipe makes a generous 8 portions, suitable for two family meals or for one meal and the lunch box meals. Serve warm or cold and can be frozen.

Directions

Step 1

Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. Line a 8" (20cms) square or round cake/flan tin with the pastry, and cook blind for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set to one side whilst you prepare the filling.

Step 2

Whisk the beaten eggs, cream, soft cheese and grated Cheddar cheese together, add the Greek basil leaves, season to taste with salt and pepper, then pour the filling into the prepared pastry case.

Step 3

Scatter the chopped spring onions over the mixture and then arrange the tomato halves over the top.

Step 4

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the flan is puffed up, golden brown and firm to the touch.

Step 5

Allow to cool in the tin before turning out. Serve in slices, with fresh basil leaves as a garnish. Perfect with salad and baked potatoes, as well as for lunch boxes and picnics.

and there I was thinking I was your kitchen hero…. love that flan, it’s a beauty… can’t wait to start baking quiches again!… well done on your number one spot too, back where you belong!… i’m number 5 this month, highest i’ve ever been!

This sounds delicious and is a good example of why I should “get out more” with my cooking. I wouldn’t think to use puff pastry or soft cheese but it looks absolutely scrumptious. I have bookmarked this to try!

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

Meet Karen

Bienvenue! I'm Karen; it’s lovely to see you here. I share my time between beautiful North Yorkshire and SW France. I am a freelance travel and food writer and recipe developer with a passion for art, travel, books, photography, seasonal food and especially cheese! Please do get in contact with me if you have any questions about my work or commissioning me. Read More…

Follow Me

Newsletter

Subscribe to get the latest News & Recipes delivered straight to your inbox!